(Updated July 2017)
I had found an Apple phone laying on a sidewalk while at work, it was still powered and I was surprised at the level of information the owner had on the phone. Luckily for that person the phone was returned the same day and seemed happy their personal life wasn’t compromised or phone stolen. Or was it?
NEO- “I know kung-fu”, MORPHEUS- “Show me”
Yeah that was a pretty awesome scene. So far we don’t need that level of electronic self defense but there are some simple (and not so simple) means of protecting oneself on the Internet and in our increasingly digital world. Previously we have discussed staying off the radar (the real first step in defense)now lets take a look at other options.
As we have seen in just a decade or less is an increasing and seemingly relentless march of technology into our lives and its not going away. Best to buck up and own it. Many embrace an increasing cyber world but have no clue whats lurks out there or that there can be some bad guys. Chances are good if your here and reading this your not buying into the whole just tap my “smartphone” at the check out while ordering a latte at starbuxs.
Granted many of these innovations are convenient as hell in our little Apple made world full of beautiful artsy smart people fluffing around tweeting each other sending texts of love. Truth is they are f$%**ng ELOI!
The Morlocks are just around the corner ready to cull a few from the heard! Time to learn some self defense! Here are just a few innovations that I would recommend for safe traveling in our increasingly cyber world. Special thanks to our admin Big V for testing and using some of these things and of course pointing out glaringly to me that I wasn’t properly equipped! Also thanks to SKTFM and the WOGS for being the techno geeks and gear freaks they’ve always been and their willingness to share with their fellow man.
1/ Anti-RFID wallets,card holders,etc.
Increasingly our bank cards, credit cards,licenses, passports,etc have those fancy chips in them. That convenience also makes them vulnerable. Enter RFID wallets. These items shield your cards from anyone scanning them or using a phone to tap them. To demonstrate this there is a free app called NFC Reader. Luckily this protection is easily available. People may have forgotten about identity theft but the reality is that it is even easier now.
This app will actually read any of your cards and is a good demonstration of just how easy it is to read said cards (with NFC). Granted though this app (and others like it) just show some basic details but there are other programs and devices that are more nefarious.
2/ Anti Virus for your phone
WTF that’s computer crap! Yeah it used to be that way (mostly) but truth is these days most phones are just micro computers. The scammers and skimmers of the world are switching their efforts over to mobile phones increasingly. Good news is there are plenty of good quality free programs out there. Install some level of protection on your phone.There are premium ones out there as well “free”,usually good enough but with less options than premium ones.
3/ Email Protection or “2 Step Verification”
You may have seen a promp on your email asking if you wanted it which you promptly went, “yeah whatever” and closed it off. Well better back the hell up and get it! Long story short, if your using a mobile device, laptop and or a cell phone you should be using this. Also using a library computer, Internet cafe or hotel computer or connection! Its pretty straight forward and takes very minimal computer knowledge to use. What it does is provide an extra layer of protection and makes your email account virtually un-hackable (even if they know your password!!). Simple the way it works. You put in your password. The service sends you a secret code on your phone. You put in secret code. This code changes every-time. They also should send you a set of one time use codes (renewable in batches ie “back up codes”) to put in your wallet -make sure you have these before you activate. Also if someone is trying to hack your email you’ll know.
4/ Black boxes in cars as well as Blue Tooth, hands free phones……
Yeah its coming and in most cases is already here. Insurance companies love black boxes or event recorders and I’m sure invasive agencies do as well. Thing is not many consider that when they sell or get rid of their car they are handing over information from the on-board phone, GPS, Event data recorder ,etc. The location you marked as “HOME”, well however has access to the car knows where your home is now too or any other place you marked as well as phone numbers and names…. yeah never thought of that did you? Cars are increasingly becoming “hackable”.
5/ information leaks, open ports your wireless router and web cams.
Your wireless router broadcasts to all the devices in your house set up to receive it. Thing is though its like a radio antenna and just emits a signal it isn’t exactly selective. Your computer, Xbox, PlayStation (a new hacker favorite) and computer camera are all vulnerable through either open ports vulnerabilities and design flaws(also known as exploits). Fortunately with a bit of time and research anyone with basic skills can sort this out. Also start using HTTPS if you havent already.
There are many threats and counter-threats out there. Don’t be afraid just be AWARE.
5/Updates:
You know those times when your computer,phone,tv etc asks you to update and then you promptly ignore that advice because your busy doing something else? Updates protect you from security vulnerabilities (ie weaknesses that hacker types can exploit) that have been found recently by white hat hackers or (less likely) the companies developers.
6/The “Cloud”
We hear about this “Cloud” and how we should send our pictures and personal things to be backed up into it.
A picture is worth a 1000 words so Ive been told. In this case it’s worth, one, two….(counts on fingers) NINE! Sorry folks no magical place in cloud city. Its a bunch of computers from some third party that stores that data instead of you storing it yourself. If anyone’s that worried about storage size (needing offsite storage) buy an external hard-drive or thumb-drive (depending on your needs) it will be a lot more secure.
7/Free Movies/Porn/Free Music/Scammed programs,etc
Ever heard the old expression, “When you lay down with dogs your going to get fleas“?
The fleas in this case are viruses,Trojans,malware,spyware, adware and other undesirable electronic pests. Streaming various electronic entertainment using pirate devices will eventually bring most people trouble. So if you don’t know about VPN and are good at running root kit protections and defeating viruses– word to the wise- stick with legitimate paid for services. Dealing with sketchy east-Europeans and hacked programs etc is not for the computer illiterate.
Thanks for tuning in. -Evil von Scary